What is Unitarian Universalism?
Introduction
Most of us, at one time or another, wonder about the ultimate questions of life: How did time begin? Is there a God? Has life meaning? What is good? Why must we die? These are fundamental religious questions. And most religions, at least the orthodox varieties, believe they have the answers. Those orthodox answers may be framed in terms of Jesus Christ, the law of the Covenant, or the eight-fold path to Enlightenment, to name but three. Unitarian Universalism is different. We respect the answers offered by Christianity, Judaism, Buddhism, and the world's other great faith traditions, we even draw our inspiration and some of our forms of worship from those traditions, but we respect the mystery more. We believe, in other words, that no single religion has a monopoly on wisdom, that the answers to the great religious questions change from generation to generation, that the ultimate truth about God and Creation, death, meaning, and the human spirit cannot be captured in a narrow statement of faith. The mystery itself is always greater than its name. Similarly, we believe that religious wisdom is ever changing. Human understanding of life and death, the world and its mysteries, is never final. Revelation is continuous. We celebrate unfolding truths known to teachers, prophets, and sages throughout the ages. We affirm the worth of all women and men. We believe people should be encouraged to think for themselves. We know people differ in their opinions and lifestyles, and we believe these differences generally should be honored. There is no creed of belief to which you must subscribe to be a Unitarian Universalist, no statement of doctrine. We do not require our members to hold a particular theology or set of affirmations in order to join our congregations. Unitarian Universalists value the individual spiritual journey and believe that there is no one right way to lead a religious life. For us, religion is ultimately not about what you think. Religion is about how you live. Ours is a faith of deeds, not creeds. This, then, is why ours is a creedless faith and respect for others' beliefs is a high value. We encourage individuals to garner insights from all the world's great faiths, as well as from Shakespeare and from science, from feminism and from feelings. We invite people to explore their spirituality in a responsible way. We ask Unitarian Universalists to cherish the earth, to free the oppressed, and to be grateful for life's blessings. Out of this combination of reflection and experience, each one of us shapes a personal faith. For Unitarian Universalists the individual is the ultimate source of reality. More on Beliefs, Creeds and Doctrines. We keep our minds open to the religious questions people have struggled with in all times and places, yet we believe that personal experience, conscience, and reason should be the final authorities in religion. In the end religious authority lies not in a book, person, or institution, but in ourselves. We put religious insights to the test of our hearts and minds. We uphold the free search for truth. We seek to act as a moral force in the world, believing that ethical living is the supreme witness of religion. The here and now and the effects our actions will have on future generations deeply concern us. We know that our relationships with one another, with diverse peoples, races, and nations, should be governed by justice, equity, and compassion. However, our focus on action does not mean that we do not value thought. There is perhaps no faith community that affirms more completely the power and potential of women and men to find and/or create meaning. Nor is there a religious community whose religious thought and practice are more diverse. It is typical in our congregations for liberal Christians, humanists, Buddhists, pagans and person's whose religious beliefs are less clearly defined to sit side by side in the same pew. What we share is our commitment to the religious journey. We know that "revelation is not sealed". The wisdom and teachings of all the world's great faith traditions are resources for us. But our relationship with the holy rests in the human heart, however we may name the sacred in our lives. What brings us together is our commitment to community, to the church. We call ours a "covenantal tradition." When we covenant with one another, we promise to walk together on our journey. A covenant is a promise to be faithful. The very pluralism of belief that may seem a weakness is actually our great strength. In a world where racial, cultural, and religious diversity is a reality, Unitarian Universalists know, because we live it every week, that our differences need not divide us, that they are blessings rather than curses. More on UU Commitments and Covenants. Because each Unitarian Universalist congregation is independent, each has its own covenant. But many congregations use some variation of the following covenant: Love is the doctrine of
this church, To dwell together in peace,
To the end that all souls
shall The word religion comes from religare, which means to bind together that which has been sundered. It is about the making and re-making of connections. It is about naming the holy in our lives and answering the call to work for healing and wholeness. Unitarian Universalists have a proud history of working for justice. From the abolition movement, to the women's movement, from the Civil Rights movement for person of color to the current civil rights movement for bisexual, gay, lesbian and transgender persons, Unitarian Universalists have been in the forefront. But the making of justice does not define our faith. Rather, our faith calls us to work for justice. That faith is grounded in the two great liberal traditions that came together in 1961 to form the Unitarian Universalist Association. From the Unitarian Universalist side of the tree, we hold that there is one spirit of life, one promise of love, one power of human possibility. And from the Universalist tradition of salvation for everyone, we know we must work to leave no one behind. Unitarian Universalism stands on the side of love. More on UU History. Read more: Tradition and Community |
Life, Death, Salvation and Sin
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| "We seek to create a community of love and justice, a source of inspiration and strength, to celebrate the best that is within us, searchers of truth, lovers of beauty, workers for justice, a place to seek the light that shines through the darkest night. "
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